Slavery.html

Slavery in Virginia

All Races; All Genders; All Ages

The history of slavery has always been an inflammatory subject but one which must be dealt with to correctly understand the slave society which existed in Virginia from 1607 to 1776 and beyond. In 17th century Virginia, "White indentured servants greatly out numbered black slaves.....In some counties, perhaps a third of the black population was free in the 1660 and 1670s...Though desperate for labor, Virginians complained of the mother country's policy of sending them jailbirds" - An Imperfect God, George Washington and His Slaves and the Creation of America, Henry Wieneck, P. 43, 2003.

There was a time when free blacks owned other blacks as slaves in Virginia. This little known fact tends to stand most people's concept of American slavery on its head:

October 1670 - 22nd Charles II
"Noe Negroes nor Indians to buy christian servants.
Whereas it hath beene questioned whither Indians or negroes manumited, or otherwise free, could be capable of purchasing christian servants, It is enacted that noe negro or Indian though baptised and enjoyned their owne freedome shall be capable of any such purchase of christians, but yet not debarred from buying any of their owne nation."
This is detailed in 1 The Journal of Negro History, No. 3., 233 (1916) with the article, Colored Freemen as Slave Owners in Virginia.

Slave at the Peyton Randolph House

The capital city of Williamsburg later became noted for its free black population helping blacks to escape slavery during the 18th century .

Free Black Silversmith

Slavery was clearly an institution which eventually became completely a race dominated society by the time of the Revolution. All Colonies had slavery and the most famous slave in 1774 was not from Virginia, but from New England. Phyllis Wheatly was a world celebrated poet, yet she was owned by the Wheatly family of Boston. See Finding Slaves in Unexpected Places, (Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, Winter 2006).

Indentured servitude became a form of slavery especially to some women who were bound for most of their life for having children out of wedlock. The cost to the "master" in money of having to feed two people caused the master to increase the years of servitude to the end of that woman's useful life as an indentured servant which made her essentially a slave. This practice was sanctioned by laws of the colony.

Newspaper advertisements regarding runaway slaves were published by many newspapers. George Washington ran a few advertisements to get back some of his runaway servants. Professor Thomas Costa at the University of Virginia has compiled an extensive collection of colonial Virginia newspapers with advertisements for runaway slaves. Of note is the very first entry which grants the person who captures the runaways, "shall have Two Pistoles Reward, besides what the Law directs". Pistole is not a colonial derivation of the word pistol but a unit of currency.

Virginia Runaways

Fairfax County Court Judgment on A Runaway Slave of George Mason

The first emancipation of slaves takes place during the American Revolution and not during the American Civil War. Northern colonies passed emancipation acts for service in the militia or army and eventually the Continental Congress passed its own emancipation for service when the Southern flank was in danger from British General Lord Cornwallis. The first famous black regiment was not the famed 54th Massachusetts Regiment of the American Civil War, but the 1st Rhode Island Regiment of the Revolutionary War. These men joined after the Rhode Island General Assembly proclaimed, "every able-bodied Negro, Mulatto, or Indian man slave to enlist and become free upon his passing muster, he is absolutely made free, and entitled to all the wages, bounties, and encouragements given by Congress to any Soldier enlisting" - An Imperfect God, George Washington and His Slaves and the Creation of America, Henry Wieneck, P. 218, 2003. President Harry Truman did not create the first integrated American Army, for General George Washington already had one as Commander of the Continental Army.

Not all blacks serving in the Revolution were free. Some were slaves sent by their masters to serve. One of the best spy's of the American Army was a Virginia slave by the name of James Armisted Lafeyette of New Kent County. James served under General Lafayette and is credited with helping to secure the victory at Yorktown. For his great service to his state, the Virginia General Assembly eventually emancipated James in October 1786. At the time of the Revolution in Virginia, negro slaves were so eager to join the Continental Army that many were deserting their masters and trying to enlist. Part of the May 1777, "An Act for the more speedily completing the Quota of Troops to be raised in this commonwealth for the continental army, and for other purposes", made it unlawful for slaves to enlist but allows free negroes to serve if they had a certificate of their freedom.

"And whereas several negro slaves have deserted from their masters, and under pretence of being free men have enlisted as soldiers: For prevention whereof, Be it enacted, that it shall not be lawful for any recruiting officer within this commonwealth to enlist any negro or mulatto into the service of this or either of the United States, until such negro or mulatto shall produce a certificate from some Justice of the peace for the county wherein he resides that he is a free man."

In October 1778, long before the United States Government stopped the importation of Slaves, The Virginia General Assembly passed the "An Act for preventing the farther importation of Slaves". This act made it unlawful to import slaves into Virginia, and those that did so in violation of the act, their slaves would become free.